


Taken

by KrisLetang



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Abduction, F/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Post-Episode: s19e13 The Undiscovered Country, Rescue Missions, Reunions, Ridiculous, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29370009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrisLetang/pseuds/KrisLetang
Summary: Sheila kidnaps Barba in an attempt to make a trade for Noah.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27
Collections: Barson Valentine's Day Collection 2021





	Taken

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt was: "Sheila escapes and kidnaps Barba to trade for Noah."

Rafael was tired. He was having a hell of a day and it was only nine in the morning. His alarm hadn’t gone off, leaving him little to no time to shower. He was ruffled and unkempt, his face covered in stubble, and he’d been forced to skip his morning coffee. His eight am class had been chaotic, but he was finally shutting himself in his office for an hour to get back on track before his next lecture. There was a cup of coffee waiting for him on his desk and he thanked the stars that he had such a nice Secretary. Technically Jason worked for more than one professor, but he always seemed to be on top of what Rafael needed before he even asked. 

He made a mental note to offer the young man lunch when he got the chance as a thank you. He took a sip from the cup. It wasn’t exactly what he would usually order for himself, but it was drinkable and it was caffeine. He started answering emails as he drank his coffee, slowly starting to feel better and better. 

His head was starting to ache the longer he stared at the computer screen and the words were blurring together. His thoughts felt fuzzy. He wondered briefly if he was going to have to go home. He felt clumsy as he tried to type, hitting all the wrong keys and finding some of the odd letter configurations humorous. Instead of trying to work anymore, he lounged back in his chair, laughing to himself. 

There was a knock on his door, and he spun himself around in the chair in a full circle before facing the door once again. “Heeelloooo?” he called, laughing at the slurred sound of his own voice. 

The door opened, and he saw a woman come in. He felt like he recognized her but he couldn’t quite place her at first. She crossed over to his desk, grabbing his arm. “Come on, get up. We’re going on a little trip.” 

“A trip?” he asked, brow furrowed. A trip did sound like fun.

“You’re going to see Olivia soon,” she said, and he lit up. 

“Liv? Where’s Liv? Can I see her now?” he asked. 

“Soon. Just come with me,” the woman said. He frowned. He didn’t trust her for some reason, but he wanted to see Liv. She took his hand, and started leading him out the door. He felt off balance and staggered after her. 

“Waaaiiit,” he said. “My coffee.” 

“I’ll buy you another one. Come on,” she said again. He sighed, letting her pull him along by his hand. Campus looked so much more interesting to him. He wanted to look around and explore but every time he tried to move, she pulled him back, making him follow her. “Get in the car.” She let go of his hand, letting him go toward that side of the car. He looked around, but the woman grabbed his wrist before he could wander far. He glowered, sitting in the car with his arms crossed over his chest. 

The woman climbed in the car and started it. “Put your seatbelt on.” 

“I don’t wanna,” he said. “You’re mean.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“Put your seatbelt on. We’re going to see Olivia,” she said again. He huffed, stuffing the belt into the buckle. 

As they started driving, he looked out the window and around the car, touching all the buttons. He pressed one of the buttons on the door and the window went down, delighting him. He stuck his head out, letting the wind hit his face. 

He felt a hand on his arm, pulling him back inside the car and then the window went up. He turned, a scowl on his face. “Heeeey, I was using that.” He poked his finger into the button again, putting the window back down. She put it back up. His eyes narrowed and he defiantly hit the button again. She pressed another button, and the window stopped going down. He pouted, looking out the closed window. He perked up when he saw a Starbucks. “I want my coffee,” he said. 

“Not right now,” the woman said. 

“You promised,” he argued. “I  _ need _ it. Coffee! Coffee!” 

“Fine,” she said and he smiled to himself. “What do you want?” 

“Iced coffee. A really really really big one with lots of sugar and cream and ooooh and caramel. Can I have a donut? Can I have three?” 

“They don’t have donuts here,” she said, rolling her eyes. 

“A muffin and a cake pop and coffee cake. I like coffee. Can I have two coffees?” he asked. The woman ignored him, starting to order his coffee. 

“Can I have a medium caramel iced coffee with extra sugar and cream.” 

“Large!” he yelled, interrupting. “And a cake pop and coffee cake and a muffin and more sugar.” 

He was happy, sitting there, drinking his coffee and eating all of his food. It was too quiet in the car, and all the fun buttons seemed alluring to him. He clicked on one, turning the radio on. The woman turned it back off. “I’m bored,” he said. “Where’s Liv? I wanna see her. She’s so pretty. I miss her. Why didn’t she come get me herself? Why does my tongue feel so big? How long until we’re there? I’m cold.” He turned the heat up and then turned the radio back on. “Why don’t you have heated seats? It’s cold outside. Do you like the cold? I don’t.” 

“Can you please be quiet for one minute?” she asked him. He scowled. He didn’t want to be quiet. He glowered, counting to sixty in his head. 

“Can you stop? I have to pee,” he said. 

“I thought I said to be quiet,” she said. 

“You said for a minute. I counted to sixty. I have to pee,” Rafael said again indignantly. She pulled over, taking him into the small fast food place. She waited outside the bathroom. He washed his hands, and when he went back out, he looked toward the registers. “I’m hungry.” 

“You just ate,” she said. 

“I’m hungry again,” he countered. She let out a loud sigh but allowed him to pick one sandwich, he ordered five. She talked him down to three plus a small fry. 

In the car, she turned the heat down, but he turned it back up again, and he turned up the radio. She let him listen to it for awhile before turning it off again as she pulled over to the side of the road. He was still eating. “Would you like to say hi to Olivia?” she asked and he perked up. 

“Yes!” He yelled immediately. 

“Can you please talk softer,” she said. 

“Sorry, I got excited.” She pulled out her phone and he went back to eating as it was ringing. 

“Sheila?” That was Liv’s voice. 

“Heeey,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “Aren’t you that mean old grandma?” He recognized the name. She shot him a pointed look. He heard her talk to Benson, but most of the conversation flew over his head. It was something about Noah and a trade. He grew impatient, reaching for the phone and Sheila swatted his hand away. “Owww, you hurt me,” he said, looking sadly at the spot where her hand had impacted his. “Let me seeee. Let me see her, you promised!” He insisted. She finally turned the camera towards him, and he couldn’t help but smile hugely. He hadn’t seen Liv in so long and he missed her. “Hi,” he said softly. “I miss you. Sheila said we’re going to see you. Are you still mad at me?” 

“No,” Liv said. “Let’s not worry about that. Are you hurt?” 

“She hit me,” he said, showing her the red spot on his hand. “See? It’s all red. She’s mean. She won’t let me put the window down, and she yelled at me when I had to pee. Are you coming to get me soon? I didn’t think you’d want to see me.” 

“I want to see you. I promise,” Liv said. “I want you to look at me. Everything will be okay. I have to talk to Sheila again.” 

Rafael sat there playing back Liv’s voice in his head. It made him so happy. She didn’t hate him. It had been so long since he saw her, and she made him feel warm inside. He wanted to see her again, to tell her that he loved her. He hadn’t done it the last time. He reached for the phone, but the seat belt locked, keeping him in his seat. He scowled, reaching again. “Let me talk again. I have something to say! Sheeeeeilaaaaa!” 

She handed the phone over, and he opened his mouth to tell her. “Liv I--” His stomach rolled and cramped, and he paused. “I-I don’t feel so good,” he said right before bending over and vomiting all over the car. “Sorry,” he whispered, doubling over again. “My tummy hurts.” Sheila just shook her head, running a tired hand over her face. 

……………………………

To say Liv was concerned and upset was the understatement of the century. She hadn’t seen Rafael in over a year, not since he left on that grey day in February. She missed him, of course, but they hadn’t so much as spoken past a few short text messages. She didn’t know why she kept answering unknown facetime numbers. First William Lewis had appeared on her screen more than six years before, and now it was Sheila Porter. 

Olivia wasn’t sure how she had Barba or what she’d done to him, but he clearly wasn’t himself. He looked smaller, vulnerable and childish in his demeanor. He was drugged in some way; that much was obvious. The way his eyes had lit up when he saw her. She knew he had feelings for her, but he was generally never so overt with her about it. His walls were down, and she didn’t want him to do something that would hurt him later when he was back in his right mind. 

She needed to get him back somehow. Sheila wanted to trade him for Noah. She had no idea how she could rescue him without endangering her son, but she knew she had to try. No matter what had happened between them, she wouldn’t ever let him get hurt if she could do anything to help it. 

“Liv, you okay?” Fin’s voice startled her. 

“Not really,” she said softly, setting her phone down. Another one of the people she loved in danger because of her. “Sheila escaped. She has Barba. She wants to trade him for Noah.” 

“What are you gonna do?” Fin asked. Liv didn’t really have an answer. 

“Get him back,” she finally said. “Somehow.” 

……………………………………

“This is a terrible plan.” 

“I know Carisi,” Liv said. Her head was aching. 

“She’s never gonna believe this,” he said, fingering one of the loose curls of his hair. “How long is my hair gonna look like this.” 

“It’ll wash out later. Relax,” Liv said. Carisi huffed. 

“I look like a ten year old,” he grumbled. 

“That’s kind of the point,” Liv shot back. 

“I’m not even a cop anymore. I don’t do UC,” he said. Liv shot him a glare from the driver’s seat. 

“Stop complaining. You were my last choice. Now come on. We have to get Barba back,” Liv said. “Just scrunch down like I said and don’t say anything. When she gets in the car and takes it, you can subdue her.” 

“You owe me big time for this,” he said. She rolled her eyes again. She knew he was just crabby because she’d dressed him like a ten year old and curled his hair. They couldn’t find a UC on such short notice and definitely not one young enough to pass as Noah so she’d enlisted her former detective. 

She pulled up to the agreed upon meeting spot, and they waited, finally seeing the other car pull in. Liv had to take a deep breath. She had to hope this was going to work. 

………………………………

Rafael was curled up in his seat nursing a bottle of sprite. He had new pants and shoes and he felt sleepy and sick to his stomach still. He’d spent the last hour singing at the top of his lungs to the radio and turning the heat all the way up until he was sweating and then turning it back down until he was shivering.

He felt the car slowing to a stop finally and Sheila unbuckled her seatbelt. He scrambled to sit up. “Where are we going?” He asked. 

“It’s time to see Liv. You stay put. She’ll be in the car in a minute,” she said. 

“No, I wanna get out. My legs hurt,” he complained. 

“Stay here,” Sheila said. He scowled, fumbling to get out of his seat belt. He opened the door before she could stop him, tripping out of the car and falling on his face. 

“Ow,” he said, flopping onto his back. 

“Get up,” Sheila said, reaching a hand out for him, he glared. 

“You made me fall you meanie,” he said grumpily. She pulled him up by his arm, and he complained again. Sheila dragged him forward by the hand, and he saw Olivia standing a few feet away. “Liv!” he yelled, waving aggressively. “Livvy Liv, hi!” She waved back, slowly approaching them. 

“Where’s my baby?” Sheila asked, glaring at Liv. 

“In the car,” Liv said. “Sheila, you won’t get away with this. Noah isn’t yours, and you had no right to drag Barba into this.” 

“Liv!” he yelled, interrupting. He’d been waiting to see her, and he wanted her attention. 

“Rafa, shh,” she said calmingly. “You and I can talk in a minute. I promise.” 

“She hurt me. My arm hurts,” he said softly. He quieted down though. 

“He brought himself into this, threatening people to help you take Noah away from me. Noah is mine. He’s my baby,” she said, and Barba looked at her, frowning.

“You’re too old to have a baby,” he said, earning himself a scathing glare from the woman. 

“I want to see Noah,” Sheila said, squeezing her hand tighter around Rafael’s wrist and keeping him close to her. 

“He’s in the car,” Liv said. “You can see him.” 

“That looks too tall to be Noah,” she said squinting. Rafael followed her gaze to the car, starting to laugh hysterically when he saw Sonny Carisi sitting in the passenger seat with his hair curled and wearing a tee shirt from the boys section at Target. 

“He’s been through a few growth spurts. You haven’t seen him in over a year. He’s taller than me now,” Liv said, and Rafael didn’t know why she was lying, but he found it hilarious. Carisi looked nothing like Noah. He couldn’t stop laughing loudly and obnoxiously, and Sheila was giving him strange looks. She reluctantly handed him over to Olivia who took him by the arm, steering him back towards the car and shushing him. “Everything is okay now,” Liv said. “I’ve got you.” 

Carisi handled Sheila easily, securing her in handcuffs and getting her in the car, and Liv escorted Barba to her cruiser. “Are you okay?” she asked him. 

“Sheila hurt my arm,” he complained. “But I feel better now. Can I have a hug? Please?” 

“Sure,” Liv said, pulling him into her arms. He pressed his face against her shirt and squeezed her close the way he always did. “Come on, we need to go to the hospital,” she said after a minute. 

“Am I hurt?” he asked, starting to tear up. 

“No, shh. Sheila just gave you something bad to eat. It’s just a check up. Come on. Afterwards, I’ll get whatever you want to eat and you can sleep at my place tonight,” Olivia said. Rafael let her lead him to the car and get him buckled in. 

“I played punch buggy with Sheila,” he said. “She got mad when I punched her three times.” 

“Did she?” Liv asked, looking amused, and that made him smile. 

“Can I tell you something?” he asked softly. She looked at him for a moment. 

“How about later? When you’re feeling a little better, okay?” she asked. 

“Okay,” he agreed softly as she pulled the car back onto the highway. 

…………………………..

Rafael’s head was pounding. He was sitting on a bed at the hospital in a flimsy little gown, grumpy and uncomfortable. He wanted to go to his apartment and burrow himself under the blankets and forget this ever happened. His cheeks burned every time he thought about the things he’d done. Sheila had roofied his coffee, and he mentally cursed himself out for drinking something that had mysteriously appeared on his desk. 

“Holding up okay in here?” He looked up at the sound of Olivia’s voice. 

“I’ve certainly been better,” he said softly.

“I brought you a coffee,” she said. “I thought it might help the headache a little. The doctor said you can have it as long as you drink some water afterwards.” 

He scrunched his nose, trying to decide if he was going to drink it or not. He felt sick to his stomach still, but coffee did sound good. He took it reluctantly. “Thanks for coming to my rescue,” he said softly. “It’s not like I deserved your help.” 

“Are you kidding,” she said softly with a smile. “I dragged you into this mess. I’m sorry Sheila kidnapped you. She only knew you because you made sure I got my son back in one piece.” 

“Do you want to explain to me why you dressed Carisi up like Noah?” he asked, smiling genuinely. 

“Not my proudest moment,” Liv said softly, sharing a shallow smile with him. 

“I can’t believe she thought you’d ever trade Noah for me,” he whispered. 

“Hmm,” Liv said. “I think she was just desperate.” 

“Desperate enough to buy me three sandwiches at a Burger King,” he said. “Then I threw up all over her car.” 

“I saw,” Liv said, and he blushed. 

“Yeah well, let’s just say this is not an experience I would like to repeat,” he said. 

“You said you had something you wanted to tell me,” Liv said, sitting down beside him on the bed. 

“Right,” he said. “Um, well first, I wanted to say I’m sorry.” 

“I don’t think that’s what you were going for,” she said with a soft smirk. He glared.

“It needs to be said anyways,” he said. “I can't really offer you a proper apology for everything I did, but I’m sorry anyways. Thank you for coming to save me.” 

“I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to see you,” Liv said. “I’ve missed you, and there for a moment, I was afraid you were going to get hurt because of me.” 

“I’m safe now,” he promised. “And um….I’d like to catch up if that’s okay with you.” 

“Name the time and the place,” Liv said. 

“Forlini’s,” he whispered. “Tomorrow night. I’ll tell you what I wanted to say then.” 

“I’m going to hold you to that,” she said, squeezing his hand. He smiled, grateful that he had a second chance. 


End file.
